Ganfried May

May was born in Oudtshoorn. He represented his local province the SWD Eagles at South Africa's premier rugby union competition for high schools, the Under-18 Craven Week on two occasions – at the 2011 tournament held in Kimberley and the 2012 tournament held in Port Elizabeth. He was named as a replacement for two games in the former, but started all three matches in the latter, scoring a try in their match against Limpopo.[2] He was included in a South Africa Schools squad after the 2012 event for the Under-18 International Series against their counterparts from France, Wales and England,[3] but didn't feature in any of their matches.

May moved to Pretoria for the 2013 to join the Blue Bulls academy. He was included in the Blue Bulls U19 squad for the 2013 Under-19 Provincial Championship,[4] and appeared in all fourteen of their matches during the season. He started nine matches during the regular season and was used as a replacement in three other matches, scoring tries in matches against Free State U21 (in Pretoria),[5] Leopards U21,[6] Western Province U21,[7] Border U21[8] and Free State U21 in Bloemfontein[9] to help the Blue Bulls to twelve consecutive victory to top the log.[10] He played off the bench in his side's 37–21 win over Leopards U21,[11] and in the 35–23 win over Golden Lions U21 in the final as his side was crowned the 2013 champions.[12]

He made eight appearances for the Blue Bulls U21 team during the 2014 Under-21 Provincial Championship, through five starts and three substitute appearances. He emulated his try-scoring form from 2013, scoring five tries during the season in matches against Border U21,[13] Golden Lions U21,[14] Leopards U21[15] Free State U21[16] and the return leg against Border U21.[17] The Blue Bulls finished in second place on the log to qualify for the semi-finals,[18] but May was not involved in their 23–19 semi-final victory over the Golden Lions[19] or their 20–10 victory over Western Province U21 in the final.[20]

In 2015, May was included in the Blue Bulls squad for the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition. He made his first class debut by starting in their 46–25 victory over the Leopards XV in Round Two of the competition,[21] and also started their next match, a 12–24 defeat to trans-Jukskei rivals the Golden Lions XV.[22] He reverted to the U21 team for the second half of the season to make nine appearances in the Under-21 Provincial Championship. He scored four tries – one against Sharks U21,[23] one against Leopards U21 in Pretoria[24] and a brace in their 55–33 victory over the Leopards in Potchefstroom.[25] Overall, it was a disappointing season for the defending champions, as they finished in fifth place on the log, missing out on the semi-final play-offs.[26]

In 2016, he made a single first class appearance, coming on as a replacement in the Blue Bulls' 95–12 victory over Namibian side the Welwitschias.[27] He played amateur club rugby during this time, playing for Naka Bulle in the Carlton League in the region.[28] He was named in the Blue Bulls squad for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division, but failed to make any appearances,[29] instead being loaned to the Eastern Province Kings.

In August 2016, May was contracted by the Eastern Province Kings for the 2016 Currie Cup Premier Division.[30] He made his debut in the team's 6–36 defeat to Western Province in Port Elizabeth, coming on as a replacement for the last twelve minutes.[31] He made his first start four days later as Eastern Province faced Griquas in a rescheduled midweek match,[32] and made his third and final appearance of the season as a replacement in their 25–57 loss to the Free State Cheetahs three days later.[33] The Eastern Province Kings endured a torrid season, losing all eight of their matches to finish bottom of the log.[34]